If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Welcome to CycloneFanatic.com. I notice you haven't taken the time to register yet, now is as good of time as any:)

Re: Finishing a Basement

I just got done finishing mine. Put in a built in dry bar, built in desk, and bathroom. Total costs ran about $5000. I did use all waterproof drywall so that was a bit more expensive but got good deals on pretty much everything else.

Re: Finishing a Basement

My only advice is if you want it to look good, hire out someone to do the Mudding / Taping / Sanding / Texturing. If you do not have any experience doing it, let someone that knows what they are doing do that part. Hanging drywall is easy, but everything else about it sucks! Especially sanding!

Re: Finishing a Basement

I have a guy at our company that does it on the side do it for me. The cost really depends on what you're looking to do with the basement. I'm not handy so I did absolutely nothing.

Here is how it broke down:

800 sqft no plumbing

I bought all the drywall, framing, supplies, etc
He charged me $3,000 to frame, drywall, mud and tape. This included areas where he had to box around windows , pipes, etc and also included framing in a bar type area. He worked a couple nights during the weekend and usually once on the weekend. It took him 3 weeks.

The electrician charged me $1,000. He put in a separate breaker for my A/V gear, hooked about 12 canned lights, and put in about 10 outlets.

Another guy charged me $300 to do all the trim work.

The one expense that surprised me was the cost to carpet. I bought cheap carpet and it was still almost $3,000.

In the end, I think it was money well spent. It would have taken me many months and it would have looked like crap.

Re: Finishing a Basement

I have a guy at our company that does it on the side do it for me. The cost really depends on what you're looking to do with the basement. I'm not handy so I did absolutely nothing.

Here is how it broke down:

800 sqft no plumbing

I bought all the drywall, framing, supplies, etc
He charged me $3,000 to frame, drywall, mud and tape. This included areas where he had to box around windows , pipes, etc and also included framing in a bar type area. He worked a couple nights during the weekend and usually once on the weekend. It took him 3 weeks.

The electrician charged me $1,000. He put in a separate breaker for my A/V gear, hooked about 12 canned lights, and put in about 10 outlets.

Another guy charged me $300 to do all the trim work.

The one expense that surprised me was the cost to carpet. I bought cheap carpet and it was still almost $3,000.

In the end, I think it was money well spent. It would have taken me many months and it would have looked like crap.

You can see pictures of it in my gallery. It's far from being fancy but it's built well and pretty cheap. You can really go crazy with special flooring, granite counter top, bathrooms, etc. We already have 3 bathrooms in our house and there is only the two of us. You have to walk upstairs to get beer anyway so it's not a big deal.

I can't really think of anything I'd do different. It's not a walkout basement. I probably spend 3-4 hours a week down there right now but 20+ hours during tournament time and football season. I've had 10-15 people down there at one time for fantasy football, parties, and playing rock band on the PS3. It's funny listening to people when they are going down the stairs. About half way down the stairs they see the 100" screen and they always say the same thing "hold s***" and then they giggle like little school girls.

Re: Finishing a Basement

Originally Posted by redrocker

My only advice is if you want it to look good, hire out someone to do the Mudding / Taping / Sanding / Texturing. If you do not have any experience doing it, let someone that knows what they are doing do that part. Hanging drywall is easy, but everything else about it sucks! Especially sanding!

Redrocker is exactly right......

I'm currently doing mine now that i've had the entire south side of the house dug up and Rub-R-Wall installed to ensure that my Man's Lounge is not damaged in the future by water.....

Plan it out, sit down sketch out where your thinking everything is going to go....it takes a lil while to take all the dim's and transfer that into a drawing, but, it may help in laying out how you will use the space....

Currently i'm drawing my basement, i'm laying out everything to get a better understanding of where i will need telephone jacks, outlets for lamps, cleaning etc, tv outlets and how high.....a lil pre-planning will help in the process trying to think of everything on the fly always is a bad plan....

Here's some ideas on costs just for the walls:
For approx 600 sq ft you will need about 100 2X4 studs @ 24 in o.c. at about about 200 bucks.
Insulation - great for sound absorbtion during awesome Clone games - family wont hear ya swearing....7 bundles with 9 batts per bundle - 335 dollars
Drywall - 150 bucks around 30 sheets @ 5 bucks a sheet

700 to do the walls....

Now on top of this you will need screws, nails, elec. boxes, ceiling, flooring, paint, tape, mud, texture, base, lights, wiring and other misc.

Re: Finishing a Basement

Another thing to think about is landscaping around the house to make sure you have good drainage to reduce the risk of water damage in the basement. You'll want to make sure you don't have any low areas or water flow problems from eaves or drainage from your yard. I put in drainage tile from the back of my house around to the front to prevent water problems in the spring or heavy rains since I had a hill sloping toward my house and run-off would leak in.

Make sure your foundation is in good shape before you invest in remodeling your lower level.

Invest in indoor waterproofing too if you have a big investment in the basement.

Re: Finishing a Basement

I didnt think the mudding, taping, texture was that bad at all. I did all the mudding and taping in a day, then my wife actually did all the sanding (for some reason she liked it). I bought a texture hopper to hook up to my air compressor and sprayed on a knockdown texture, let it sit and went over it with a large taping knife. I think it looks pretty darn good and it hasn't cracked at all, unlike some friends who have had theirs done professionally recently.

Re: Finishing a Basement

That's my concern as well. I can do the "rough" work, but finishing, plumbing and detailed electrical work are not my strong suit.

I actually need to get some electrical work done in the basement now. There is a nearly empty panel down there (main in the garage, sub panel in the basement), so it wouldn't be too bad - just not enough experience to feel comfortable doing it.

All content owned by CycloneFanatic.com - All rights reserved 2005-09. By viewing this website you agree to the Terms of Service, Site Rules and Legal Disclaimer. The words, views, images and opinions expressed or provided by users do not reflect the opinions or views of CycloneFanatic.com or Iowa State University. The names, words, symbols, and graphics representing Iowa State University are trademarks and copyrights of the University protected by the trademark and copyright laws of the United States of America and other countries and are used on this web site under license from the University. Original site design, premise & construction by Jeremy Lind.